Truckee-based film production company Eureka Productions won 14 awards this month at the 45th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film festival.

Eureka Productions awards include “how-to” instructional videos, and documentaries about world peace, “breaking news”, sports, fitness and healing, the integration of spiritual teachings in Indian government policies and more.

Eureka has previously won awards for its documentaries on Afghanistan, Central America, the Himalayas, sustainable logging, sustainable farming and more.

Eureka Productions, based in Truckee and Mendocino, specializes in martial arts, healing, and social issues documentary videos.

The winning awards:

On the Road with Shri Vibhu Ji “Tame the Mind”

1. Television Cable & Web-based productions Religion & Spirituality Gold

Ken Anderson: Sharing Tales from the Iditarod Trail

1. Television, Cable & Web-based productions Education Gold

India Welcomes the World

1. Television Cable & Web-based productions Religion & Spirituality Silver

The Marriage of Knowledge & Action with Satpal Maharaj 1. Films & Video Productions Ethic / Cultural: Silver

Masters on the Mountain : “Playing Martial Arts for the Fun of It” winning in 4 categories listed below:

1. Live Action with little or no dialogue: Silver

2. Sports (Television Cable and Web based productions) Bronze

3. Independent short subjects “live action Bronze”

4. Fitness “Commercials and Public Services” Bronze

The Problem is no Problem (with Mahatma Faqiranand)

1. Film and Video Productions Religion /Ethic /Spirituality Bronze

2. Television, Cable and web-based production: Live Events Bronze

3. Religious Programs “Television cable and web-based productions” Bronze

A Testament to Tong Ren

1. Television Cable & Web based “Local Public Service” Bronze

Occupy Wall Street

1. Television, Cable & Web-based productions “Single breaking news story coverage” Bronze

The Deflection, Absorption & Emission of Energy with Sergey Makarenko

1. Television, Cable and Web-based Productions Live Events Bronze.

Volunteers are key to the success of Camp Sunrise, a free bereavement camp for children, and are needed for the camp June 17-19.

The Barton Foundation’s annual Camp Sunrise is at Galilee Camp & Conference Center in Glenbrook.

Camp Sunrise is founded on the understanding that every child deserves the opportunity to grieve in a safe, supportive and understanding environment. This free camp is funded by the Barton Foundation and is a program of Barton Hospice.

Designed for children ages 7 through 14, the camp was created for children who have experienced the death of a family member.

Children receive grief education and support from trained counselors and social workers, and they are able to work through any bereavement issues they may have. The weekend is designed to leave them with a more positive outlook for the future.

Volunteer opportunities are available for: lead counselor, camp operations staff, camp weaver, musician, storyteller, photographer, life guard and nurse.

Residents of South Lake Tahoe, Minden, Gardnerville and the Carson City areas may apply to attend. For more information to volunteer or to register, go online or call (530) 543.5614.

By Shawn Swinger

SEOUL – During the past few weeks North Korea has issued some grave statements. In line with the 100th birthday of its founder, Kim Il-Sung, the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (DPRK) announced that it would launch a rocket into space under the pretext of putting a satellite into orbit. A multitude of nations condemned the launch saying that the North was trying to test its ability to fire ballistic missiles, armed with nuclear warheads, which could in theory reach the United States. The proposed launch also threatened to sever a recently agreed upon food aid package which the U.S. was to give to the DPRK in order to assist their malnourished population in return for a moratorium on nuclear advancements.

The missile launch went ahead on April 13 and in moments exploded (literally) in failure. It remains to be seen what steps the international community will take in response to the launch.

Students in Seoul are not preoccupied with North Korea's missile launch. Photo/Shawn Swinger

A week later, in an oh so stylish move, the North Korean military interrupted a regularly broadcasted program in Pyongyang (the North’s capital) to announce that within a span of four minutes they could reduce the capital of South Korea (Seoul) to ashes in retaliation for the South’s president’s criticism of their regime. Some believe the threat to be a move of the military to re-establish credibility after the failed missile launch and as such it is no more than mere rhetoric. Others fear an actual military provocation, though one short of reducing the 10 million plus city of Seoul to nothingness.

I was in Seoul during the time of the missile launch and had the opportunity to engage with several young South Koreans in order to see these tensions from their perspectives. In a roadside “restaurant”, in actuality just a few chairs under a plastic tarp, serviced from an inside kitchen, I sat down with my friend Minju Kang to enjoy some cold noodles with a hard boiled egg, apparently a “North Korean specialty”.

Minju grew up in a small town near the border with the DPRK but now lives in Seoul working on her master’s degree in comparative literature. Despite the proximity to the border, Minju detailed that she never gave her neighbors across the mine field border much thought. Growing up she was taught to say that the reunification of North and South was her greatest wish along with the desire to see economic aid given to the impoverished nation. Nevertheless, any and all danger that North Korea posed was never taken seriously.

“They threaten us every year so we just got used to it,” Minju explained.

However, when the South Korean Cheonan warship was torpedoed by North Korea in 2010, some of Minju’s childhood friends were in the military and faced the very real possibility of going to war. She came to the realization that “once my friends were potentially going to war, then the danger became real.” Yet, even given the recent tensions on the Korean peninsula, any and all threats are still taken by Minju as mere talk.

When things got personal and people whom she knew got involved then the North became more real. When tensions remain only as a paragraph in a newspaper, all verbal assaults become mere background noise to the busy lives of young Koreans.

I dove into several other conversations with college aged Koreans over barbecue, in a Taco Bell, and elsewhere. One thing that stood out was that no one breached the topic of the DPRK’s missile launch. In fact, North Korea was never brought up until I steered the conversation that way. It was after said steering that I discovered their opinions, which did exist and were strong, but the headlines of the North’s recklessness were not in the forefront of their minds.

Most of these Koreans had full time jobs, were in school, or were otherwise caught in the frenetic flow of Seoul’s metropolitan chaos. Being obsessed with the moves of the DPRK’s dictatorship, I assumed that all South Koreans were in a constant state of awareness toward their wayward brother. It shouldn’t come as too surprising a truth, though, to realize that most people just never think about it. After all, the same is true in our societies as well.

Amidst the day-to-day fray of bills, work, kids, and so forth, one simply does have the mental space to contemplate the meaning of these things. However, considering the possibility of nuclear armament, events such as the rashness of North Korea hold consequences not only for those living in Seoul but for us here on the other side of the Pacific. In light of all this, perhaps we can afford to give these realities a little more thought.

Shawn Swinger is a native of South Lake Tahoe who just spent two weeks in Seoul.

By Michele Lynn

When Bonnie Clarke needs some motherly advice, she doesn’t have to travel far. That’s because she and her mom enjoy the unusual perk of having retired to the same community.

The two women are neighbors at ABHOW’s Tahoe Senior Plaza in South Lake Tahoe. Mom has lived in the community for three years, while her daughter, also named Bonnie Clarke, became a resident in January with her husband, Paul Devers.

“It was a big decision to move here because I had a very busy life in New Hampshire, with 50 years of friends and 50 years of being in the same church,” says the elder Bonnie, who was widowed in 2000. She put her name on the Plaza’s waiting list in 2005 so that she could be closer to her three children, who live in California and Nevada, and moved into the community in 2009.

Two generations living retirement days at Tahoe Senior Plaza. Photo/Provided

Seeing how much her mother enjoyed life at the Plaza, the younger Bonnie — who goes by Bonnie Del to avoid confusion — put her name on the waiting list for the community when she turned 62 last year. She and her husband received the news that they were in just a few months later.

It’s unusual for a mother and daughter to live in the same retirement community, says Lauren Shaham, vice president of communications at LeadingAge, ABHOW’s national professional association. She says that she hasn’t heard of another family pair like the Clarke women.

Mother and daughter see each other daily, going on group outings together or checking in for a chat.

“If my husband is asleep or out of town, I might wake up in the morning and give her a quick call, or walk down the hallway and up the stairs to see her,” says Bonnie Del. “We’ll sit there and start to talk and then, all of a sudden, it’s two hours later.”

They have always been close.

“Throughout my life, most of my friends were surprised at the relationship that my mother and I had,” says Bonnie Del. “We would do hikes together, go on shopping excursions, and bake together every Christmas.”

When they lived in New Hampshire, a favorite tradition was their annual “Miss America trip.” They would drive to Maine and spend the weekend “shopping, eating out, and then watching the Miss America pageant on a good television in a nice hotel,” says the daughter.

They still enjoy many of the same activities.

“Just last night,” says the mother, “I was in the living room area working on a puzzle when (Bonnie Del) came in. I asked her if she was going for a walk, and we went out and did at least four miles together.”

Those regular walks are especially meaningful.

“It gives us the opportunity to do enough talking to solve problems,” Bonnie says. “I can talk to her and help her with the things that are troubling her.”

Bonnie is extremely active and youthful. In fact, says her daughter, “I’m only in my 60s and I’m trying to get in shape so I can keep up with my mother who will be 90 this summer. I had to start dyeing my hair so people would stop thinking that I was the mother and she was the daughter.”

Bonnie says that she is always excited when she’s out in the hall and her daughter appears.

“Just having her close has made me feel more secure,” she says. “As I’m getting older, it’s a comfort knowing that if anything happens to me, she’s there.”

Bonnie Del shares those feelings.

“In these years, it’s just nice to be able to spend time with her,” she says.

Both women share a strong faith and worship together every Sunday at Sierra Community Church in South Lake Tahoe.

“God opened the door for us to be together,” says Bonnie Del. “This is where we’re supposed to be at this time of our lives.”

Michele Lynn works for ABHOW, the company that runs the senior center.

Publisher’s note: This is reprinted from the March-April 1989 Lake Tahoe Historical Society newsletter.

It is an unassuming building situated in the high visibility spot on Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe that is shared by the Chamber of Commerce and the Senior Center. Inside there are many forms of art, information, artifacts and pictures that help to preserve and display the history of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The museum’s first location, in a small rustic cabin situated behind the Al Tahoe Fire Station, was not so visible but those who found their way to this first informal museum were fascinated by the artifacts, by the society members who were so enthusiastic about the history of the area and by the ambiance inside this tiny building. The Historical Society asked the residents of the area to help with the collection of artifacts and memorabilia for the museum and received more than the building could display. From this nucleus they created and operated this museum every summer from 1970 to 1983.

Six years ago the museum was moved to its current site, offered by the city when the library moved to new quarters. A much larger space for exhibits was available to a more chronological, story-oriented museum could be designed. There was also more room for collection and improved preservation activities. Since then displaces have been expanded and redesigned several times a conservation techniques have been improved. The number of yearly visitors has tripled in the past two years. The museum was open every day of the week in the summer of 1988 and two or three days a week that winter.

The museum received a new look in 1988 with new display cases, a video area, special changing exhibits, new books and sale items in the museum shop. There is an exciting new railroad exhibit set to be opening in the spring. The museum’s goal is to display items that cover the history of the entire basin at the Lake Tahoe Museum.

By Gus Thomson, Auburn Journal

Loveable irascible Fred Clark is far from a household name.

And he may be little more than a second banana in the Hollywood moviemaking jungle.

But he’s Placer County’s second banana. He was born in the Mt. Pleasant district between Auburn and Lincoln March 19, 1914.

And – this is an important caveat – his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is the only one of the more than 2,000 that honors a native of Placer County.

Who was Clark? In the Placer County realm, he was the son of England-born Frederick Clark, an attorney who came to Placer County because of the healthy air and became a successful orchard owner. Clark’s mother, Stella,was a school teacher from Chico beloved by the few and last students at tiny Mt. Pleasant school, which closed in 1919.

The junior Clark was also the joker who would quote a popular ditty in the Lincoln High School yearbook asking whether “your chewing gum loses its flavor on your bedpost overnight?” He graduated in 1930 from Lincoln High and went on to Stanford, where he began to find a future in acting. 1938 found him on Broadway for the first time. After taking a break for Navy and Army service in World War II, Clark would inhabit hundreds of memorable roles in Hollywood films and TV programs until his death in 1968.

Read the whole story

By Mandy Kendall

I think we’ve all had those drowsy, I-could-fall-asleep-standing-up times. They can hit you for all kinds of reasons; low blood sugar, lack of sleep or even boredom. Then there are the “I’m so stressed I could scream” times as well. So what can you really do about them?

Some of us might reach for caffeine or something sweet to perk us up, or other substances to chill us out, but in the long run is that what’s best for us?

Mandy Kendall

Most of the time artificial stimulants or depressants just mask the issues and come with myriad side effects, often making the initial issue seem pretty insignificant.

So here are a few Qwik-e tips (quick and easy and in most instances they take about a minute, or less) to help boost your energy levels and mood without relying on anything artificial.

Just breathe — During times of stress, high concentration or low energy, our breathing tends to get pretty shallow, which in itself doesn’t help us to feel energized. So a few slow deep breaths will help increase blood flow (and wake us up) and reduce adrenaline levels (to calm us down). Try gently pushing your shoulders down and pushing your belly out when you breathe in. You may feel a bit of tightness in your diaphragm (just below your rib cage) that can be a sign that it’s not being used very much and needs a good stretch anyway. Five breaths (counting to 4 while inhaling and to 4 while exhaling) will do wonders for your body and help wake you up, or calm you down if that’s what you need.

Stretch — This can be a wonderful energizer. It increases blood flow, helping to carry all that wonderful oxygen you’ve just breathed in around your body. I’m not necessarily talking about the kind of stretching you see people do after exercise either. I’m talking about the reach for the sky, stretch out your fingers and toes, kind of stretch. You can do this seated or standing. Just go gently and don’t stretch past that ‘ooh that feels good’ part of the stretch. This kind of stretch is not designed to give you more flexibility, just wake up a sleepy body.

Smile — Even if we don’t necessarily feel like it, smiling has a number of great health benefits. Even a fake smile can trick the brain into releasing endorphins (our happy hormones) making us feel happier, reducing stress and lowering blood pressure that in turn boosts our immune system. Smiling is also contagious, so your smile will help other people too. Not bad for something that’s free and good for you.

Talk — So, you’ve been smiling, and people are smiling back and everyone is feeling happier, how about you take the next step and talk to them? In today’s high-tech world of emails and texts we sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are social creatures who thrive best in a community. So much of our communication is through personal interaction and speaking face to face with someone conveys so much more than an email. Even calling someone achieves much more than a text. I know texts save time but try, maybe just once a day, calling someone rather than texting them. If you’re really short on time you can always start the conversation by saying, “I’ve only got a minute but I really wanted to hear your voice/call you/say hi and see how you’re doing”. If you manage to make each other laugh at the same time, it really could make a difference for both of you.

Be grateful — During stressful times it sometimes helps to put things into perspective by thinking about things we are grateful for. Just taking a few moments to count our blessings diverts our brains from forming a negative pathway in our thought processes and helps form new positive pathways instead.

You could also enlist the help of people you work with, or spend time with, to join you in some of these techniques to help counteract times of low energy or stress. Group interaction can be a great motivator and it’s much more fun too!

Finally, if you feel like a bit of multitasking how about doing a few at the same time? Have a big stretch, put a smile on your face, breathe deeply and say thank you. You never know, once people realize you’re not going nuts, it might just catch on.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and wellbeing topic, please feel free to drop me an email at healthconnective@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook, or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.

If you know someone who has committed suicide, or you’ve contemplated suicide, you’re not alone. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 million people die each year from suicide. Millions more are affected by suicide.

As part of mental health awareness month, Placer County’s Campaign for Community Wellness is working to educate people about suicide warnings signs, risk factors and where to go for help.

Major suicide warning signs include talking about harming or killing oneself; talking or writing about death and dying and seeking items that could be used in a suicide attempt like guns and drugs. Feeling hopeless is a more subtle warning sign, though it is equally as dangerous. People who are acting hopeless say they have nothing to look forward to; they may talk about unbearable feelings. They simply feel and share with others that they have nothing to look forward to.

After someone commits suicide, often friends and family are left asking, “What more could I have done? Were there resources that I failed to seek and use? Were there warning signs that I missed?” They feel like they could have or should have done more. These feelings and questions are normal. One of the best things for people to do is to become familiar with as many warning signs as possible.

Other warning signs to look for in someone to see if he/she might be suicidal include dramatic mood swings or sudden personality changes. A suicidal person may also lose interest in day-to-day activities, neglect his or her appearance, and show big changes in eating or sleeping habits. All these warning signs are even more dangerous if a person has a mood disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, suffers from alcohol dependence, has previously attempted suicide or has a family history of suicide.

Local resources that provide general assistance for suicide risk can be found at the Placer County Network of Care. For a national resource that offers advice, information and a crisis hotline go online.

For immediate help, the following suicide hotline numbers and website are available:

Auburn: (530) 885.2300

Roseville: (916) 773.3111

Lincoln: (916) 645.8866

National: 800.273.8255.

What do writers have to say about Lake Tahoe? Find out at the “Tahoe Blues” reading at Lake Tahoe Community College on June 8 at 7pm.

Join Bona Fide Books and LTCC in celebrating the release of the latest Bona Fide book, “Tahoe Blues”.

Writers will dive into their tales — tall and true alike. This is part of the LTCC Writers Series.

The inaugural “Tahoe Blues” reading will be at LTCC’s Ledbetter Terrace, and will include several LTCC alumni who are featured in this collection.

Other events are planned throughout the summer around the basin and in Reno, Truckee and Placerville. The book will also be available in several local outlets around town. For more information about “Tahoe Blues”, go online.

Books will be on sale and authors ready to sign them.

The reading is free.

Portia is a sweet girl who was abandoned on the shelter doorstep with a note that said she was 6 years old.

She is a little scared here at the shelter, but she is very gentle. Portia is a dilute Calico who has been at the shelter since February, and she would very much like to go home.

Portia is spayed, microchipped, and vaccinated. She is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to see photos and description of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz